Honeymoon destinations have changed a lot over the years and now couples are branching out a lot more than they did a couple decades ago. Most of the tour companies we've spoken with over the years in marketing planning or in our interviews have seen a pickup in Honeymoon bookings. This is true all over Latin America, including Brazil.

Brazil honeymooners can find packages built just for them in famous Rio, or in less hectic romantic spots like Buzios. We've reviewed Casa Brancas, one of the properties SeeYouInBrazil likes to place couples in. Even in Rio there are packages with Santa Teresa that get you up on the mountains with a view instead of at sea level.

Often the rates you'll get when booking with a local specialist will more than make up for you paying for their planning time and advice. Because they do business with these high-end properties regularly, they often have better rates in place than you can get yourself booking online. Or they can get you upgraded to a suite for the price of a regular room. Plus with local connections you can get a deeper experience. "I have some new tours in Buzios with local people that others do not have," Mr. Brazil Luis says.

Brazil Eco and Adventure Tours

There's been a major pick-up in demand for nature and adventure tours, however, as opposed to the old school honeymoons where couples just sat around on a beach (and holed up in their rooms) for a week. Some couples want a real bucket list trip, like a journey to the great Amazon River. Here's a great professionally shot video with an intro about Brazil the country then a deep dive into travel in the Amazon region from Manaus.

A Brazil honeymoon Amazon package may have a base in a luxury resort inside the jungle such as the Anavilhana Jungle Lodge. From there couples can go on a tour to Rio Negro to swim with the pink dolphins, visit an indigenous tribe, and see the city of Manaus. Anavilhana also has a well-equipped boat for touring the river region with privacy and comfort.

There are other options in this big country of course, from secluded long beaches like you find at Txai Resort in the Bahia region to the sparsely populated Fernando de Noronho Islands.

Yeah, we know. The news items next to the word "Brazil" and "travel" this year have not exactly been flattering. But sometimes the best travel opportunities come out of perceptions of trouble, so let's talk about the positives for a moment.

First though, we don't mean to make light of the Zika virus situation. If you are pregnant or planning to be soon, you have a valid reason to stay away for awhile. Otherwise, treat this new mosquito threat for what it is: something far less dangerous than malaria, yellow fever, or dengue fever.

A Great Exchange Rate in Brazil

Brazil's exchange rate has been more like a roller coaster than a soft beach wave for the past two decades. After cresting a few years ago it's now near a record low for that period. For a while there Brazil was the most expensive country south of Mexico, so this doesn't mean it has suddenly turned into a bargain. It does mean, however, that you won't be looking at New York or London prices when you go out to eat or drink.

After trading at below 2 to the U.S. dollar most of this decade, you can expect to get between 3 and 3.2 Brazilian reals for your dollar this summer.

No Reciprocal Visa Fee This Summer

Many Americans have avoided Brazil for ages because of the hefty reciprocal visa fee. Basically the country has charged visitors whatever they charge Brazilians to enter, so countries that made it difficult for Brazilians to enter got penalized. While this is understandable to a point, the aggressive counter-measures often hurt the penalizing country more than the penalized one since tourists just went elsewhere instead. Chile dropped this practice two years ago, Argentina dropped it more recently, and Brazil has now suspended it for the period around the Olympic Games.

Given the major political struggles in the country, we don't expect this logical step to roll over permanently, so take advantage of it now and save more than $600 on the price of stepping off a plane in Rio for a family of four.

There are Still Tickets for the Olympics!

Usually when a developed country is hosting the Olympic games, tickets are bought up by corporate sponsors and VIPs years in advance and it's next to impossible to catch Michael Phelps in the pool or see the finals in the gymnastics floor performances. This year is different. Because of Zika scares and troubles in Brazil on the political and economic fronts, you can still get in and have plenty of events to choose from. As of yesterday 30% of the event tickets were still available. Go here to purchase.

We can't promise you smooth sailing when it comes to accommodation though. Rio has been a baffling city since we first launched Luxury Latin America. While every other major tourist city in South America has exploded with hotel options, Rio remains mired in bureaucracy and half-baked developments. So there are very few luxury hotels in Rio and they've often booked solid. Your best bet is to put your faith in the hands of a local who can find options in the nooks and crannies. Check out See You in Brazil for your time in Rio and then some time in a less crowded place elsewhere in the country.

]]>http://luxurylatinamerica.com/blog/2016/07/08/lots-reasons-head-brazil-year/feed/0In Rio, Hotel Alternatives Can Be the Best Optionhttp://luxurylatinamerica.com/blog/2015/05/19/in-rio-hotel-alternatives-can-be-the-best-option/
http://luxurylatinamerica.com/blog/2015/05/19/in-rio-hotel-alternatives-can-be-the-best-option/#respondWed, 20 May 2015 00:14:50 +0000http://luxurylatinamerica.com/blog/?p=4543

We've written several times before about how Brazil is so inexplicably short on luxury hotel options. Despite a fairly robust tourism business, loads of business travelers, and a relatively wealthy population these days, finding a nice place to stay can be really tough. If you haven't booked your hotel room yet for the Olympics, you're probably out of luck. Fasano and Copacabana Palace have been booked up for that period since almost as far back as Rio was announced as the host city in 2016. Even if Barak Obama or Beyonce called to get a room, they'd hear, "I'm so sorry but..."

You can chalk most of this up to Brazil's stifling bureaucracy, but Rio is also a city where there's only so much prime land available for development. Put those two things together and it means everything is at a standstill and it can take a decade to build and open a new hotel, even when you've got the World Cup and Olympics both coming your way.

So our latest article is on how to avoid this scene altogether by booking an apartment instead. No, we're not telling you to go it alone with AirBnB and take your chances. Instead this is a story about using an apartment rental company that also serves as a concierge service: Oasis Collections Experience.

They cater to higher-end, pickier foreign travelers who don't share the Brazilians' rather lax demands when it comes to luxury accommodations and service. Their apartments are serviced by staffers who function like arms-length butlers, making sure everything is right. They get you there with an Uber code, have someone on site to get you set up, and cater to any needs you have for getting a car, a chef, or a custom tour.

In the end you'll probably pay less than you would at the top-end Rio hotels, which almost everyone complains are overpriced for what you get. Yet you'll get more attentive and personalized service and some room to spread out, with a kitchen for when you don't want to eat out. There are multiple locations in the prime part of the city, as well as others that are jaw-dropping beautiful on the coasts not far away.

Many of those coming to see the World Cup or the Olympics in Brazil are going to have a tough time finding a hotel in RiodeJaneiro. Copacabana Palace has been sold out "for years" for those two events and cruise ships are going to be docking to add a few thousand beds to the meager supply. According to one of many articles about the hotel shortage (28,000 rooms for 1.5 million visitors), here's what The Washington Post said: "49 of the 89 Rio hotels on the FIFA official accommodation site are already reserved for groups such as the news media or appear online to be fully booked. Reports abound of sky-high rates."

There's a little bit of good news on the way for the future though.

Project Rio This Summer

Design Hotels Project Rio is a pop-up hotel, dining experience, and art gallery that will run from June 9 to July 15. The Club House will be the official Design Hotels headquarters, "providing the Community with a touch down spot in Rio. Bossa nova greats will mash-up with international DJ’s, while the likes of artists, architects and designers mingle and swap ideas. The temporal dining experience concept, Pret A Diner ...will be on site, bringing their own unique brand of savoir-faire and gastronomical expertise to The Club House BBQ's and dinner series." Rates at The Club House start at $500 per night for each of the five bedrooms and one bungalow.

A pop-up boutique. Shop Latitude will feature "handpicked accessories, clothing and jewelery, showcasing the best of Brazilian luxury brands through to artisanal and handmade goods."

All are located near The Guest House Maria Santa Teresa, which will be open through December. The six rooms in the home mix "Scandinavian design with regional curio." There's a speakeasy cigar lounge on the lowest floor and an upper level pool and terrace with a view. Rates start at $280. See more at the Design Hotels website for Rio.

Trump Rio de Janiero Coming Later

The recently announced Trump Rio won't open until the big events are over, but its 171 rooms will substantially increase the number of available beds for upscale travelers over the long term.

It will be located in the Jardim Oceanico sub-district of the Barra da Tijuca borough, prime rooms facing the water. The 13-story property will be Trump Hotel Colletion's first one in South America, following its first in Latin America: Trump Ocean Club Panama. It's slated for a 2016 opening, but going by the (lack of) speed displayed on other building projects in Rio, my money is on an opening a year or two after that.

We're looking forward to this place opening though. Sure, it'll have a great pool deck, a nightclub, and probably the best-equipped rooms in town, but also probably a level of service that will easily leapfrog over what's on offer now.

As our reviewer says in the intro to our rundown on Makenna Resort in the Bahia region of Brazil, this is not your typical rustic beach hotel. While most of them---even the most expensive---are casual to the point of rustic, Makenna is unabashedly modernist, with every angle looking like it could jump off the pages of a design magazine.

Whether that's what you want or not in a beach vacation is up to you. For some, the idea of sleeping and eating in an "art museum on the sea" will make their aesthetic senses vibrate and they'll take great joy in the right angles and hard surfaced juxtaposed next to blue skies and palm trees. For others, it may feel a bit cold and stark for the tropics. If you're in the latter camp, check out our other reviews of the best hotels in Brazil.

If you choose Makenna though, you can expect impeccable design where every detail is planned and meals that are some of the best (and best-presented) on the coast. Rooms are well-stocked with all the amenities and gadgets you'd get in a city hotel. Opened just over a year ago, it's still looking very fresh and new.